


Alive (Revised)

by ShiningAura



Series: Oddities [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Ash is a cinnamon roll, Ash is innocent and pure, Ash will be a little ooc in the beginning, Eventual Romance, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Just lots of fluff, M/M, Male Friendship, Needles, No Smut, Rewrite, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Violence, and maybe a kiss or two, but he slowly develops into the Ash we know and love, did i mention there's fluff?, diodeshipping, just pure fluff, protective clemont, still the weirdest idea i've ever had
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24271045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiningAura/pseuds/ShiningAura
Summary: Clemont gets a temp job as an intern at a research facility and makes a friend who is unique in every possible way. A friend he will protect at any cost. This is a story of friendship, love and what it truly means to be alive.
Relationships: Citron | Clemont/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: Oddities [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1752163
Kudos: 17





	1. The Amazing Facility

**Chapter 1: The Amazing Facility**

_No way…_

Clemont stared at the letter in his hands. His breakfast cereal sat forgotten on the table. The teen couldn’t even fathom how this was happening. Was Placebo Net seriously inviting him to work as a temporary intern?

Placebo Net was a relatively new facility, but they already made a name for themselves. They’re dedicated to creating various tools and drugs that improve the quality of life for people and pokemon. They’re close to curing several diseases and even stunned doctors by helping someone walk again. Placebo Net made the impossible possible. Why would they ask him to be an intern at his age?! What insane universe did he wake up in this morning?

“Clemont, you’ve been gawking at that letter for ages, what’s it about?” asked a youthful voice beside him.

“Sorry, Bonnie. It’s from Placebo Net. They… want me as an intern.”

“Wow, really?!” cried Bonnie. “Cool! They made all those new medicines right?”

“Yeah, it’s only a temporary thing, but I could learn a lot.”

“You’re gonna accept then?”

“Maybe…” said Clemont as he ran a hand through his hair. “I’m a little hesitant to leave the gym but… Clembot has been keen to go solo for a while, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping.”

“Well keep an eye out for keepers because I won’t be around to help with that,” said Bonnie with a wink.

“Bonnie!” moaned Clemont. Then he smiled. “Okay, I’ll do it. What harm could it do?”

The rest of the day consisted of calling Placebo Net to inform them of his decision. He also made certain all was in order for Clembot to run the gym in his absence. He is due to start tomorrow, and it would, for the most part, be an induction day. Placebo Net wasn’t ridiculously far from Lumiose City. Just an hour’s train ride to Kuro City so it wasn’t like he would be miles and miles away. Still, the manager of Placebo Net suggested Clemont actually roomed at Placebo Net. Not only it would make things easier for them both it would also be more cost-effective for Clemont to not have to pay for train tickets every day. The teen couldn’t argue with that logic so he agreed. Bonnie pouted upon hearing this.

“Can’t I come with you Clemont?” she asked sadly.

“I wish you could Bonnie, but I’m going to be really busy. It isn’t like at the gym where I could watch you during a lull in challengers, I’ll likely be gone all day.”

Plus, Clemont was sure the researchers wouldn’t appreciate his sister getting under their feet all the time while they were trying to work.

_\- - - - - - - - -_

_Clothes, check. Toothbrush, check. Pokeballs, check._

“Clemont this is the eighth time you went through that list. You have everything already!” griped Bonnie as she watched from the doorway.

"One can't be too careful Bonnie," said Clemont as he got up from his cross-legged position on his bedroom floor. He picked up his backpack which was now several times heavier then went to give his sister a hug.

“You be good okay. I’ll call when I get the chance.”

“Okay. I love you Clemont.”

“I love you too.”

Meyer walked into the room with a lunch box

“A little something to eat on the train. It’s not your mum’s cooking, Arceus rest her soul, but it’s filling I’d imagine.”

“Thanks, Dad," said Clemont as he accepted the lunch box and was just able to fit it into his already crammed backpack.

“Well, good luck son. Work hard and keep us posted, and don’t worry, Bonnie and I will hold down the fort.”

Clemont nodded and after more goodbye hugs Clemont left the gym. He glanced back at the building for a moment, knowing he won’t be back for a while.

"No turning back now," he said to himself and continued on.

\- - - - - - - -

Clemont was now getting off the train at Kuro Station. Kuro City was as the name implied. Everything was dark coloured. Even the pavement somehow. The flower baskets dangling from various homes were the only things with even an ounce of colour.

Clemont pulled out his map and was somewhat surprised to find Placebo Net was only a couple of blocks away. Along the way the blonde watched everyone go about their business. Children not much younger than Bonnie played hopscotch in a play area with a Skitty. There was a salon where a woman was reading a magazine while waiting for a man to finish grooming what Clemont presumed was her Furfrou. A pansear walked up to Clemont and handed him a leaflet that advertised a pastry shop. The teen placed the flyer into his pocket to review later. He also strolled by a flower stall where a young woman was making flower bracelets with the aid of her Floette.

“Here we are!”

The building was incredibly modest. It was about 30 stories tall and the walls were a dull grey. The windows were so clean, Clemont would forgive anyone for thinking there were no windows at all. The glass door slid open as he approached. Inside was a sharp contrast to the exterior. The walls and floor were pure white. There were tall plants in each corner of the lobby and there were light blue chairs by the windows. Clemont soon reached the desk where a brunette woman with a loose ponytail was typing something on the computer.

“Ahem… erm excuse me, I’m the new temp intern starting today.” Clemont stuttered as he presented the badge he received for verification.

The woman peered up and smiled.

“Ah, yes let’s see.”

The woman accepted the badge and scanned it on a machine next to her computer. After it made a happy beep, she nodded and handed the card back.

“So you’re Clemont. Well, everything seems in order. I’ll let the boss know you’re here. So if you’ll take a seat.”

“That won’t be necessary, Heather. I’m already here.” announced a new voice. Clemont turned to see a middle-aged man walking towards the desk. “Appreciate the sentiment though.”

Heather nodded returning to her work. The man turned to Clemont. He had dark brown thinning hair, and he wore a lab coat over his mint green shirt.

“Wonderful to meet you Clemont,” he said as he held out his hand which the inventor took. “Again, I’m delighted you accepted our invitation. My name is Brad. I believe we spoke on the phone.”

Clemont nodded.

“Thank you for inviting me. It will be a valuable learning experience.”

“That it will.” laughed Brad. “Every day is a learning experience here. Now, why don’t we start with a tour? Would you like anything to drink? A snack perhaps?”

“No thanks. I had something on the train.”

“Well if you change your mind, let me know,” said Brad as they headed towards the door he entered through which turned out to be an elevator. Brad pressed a button, and they ascended. They went up a few floors before the elevator beeped and the doors opened.

“This is the research floor,” said Brad. “Self-explanatory. We learn everything we can about diseases and how they can affect the human body. Same thing with pokemon. We’re now researching Pokerus and determining if there are any hidden adverse effects of contracting it. So far all we’ve found is that it can occasionally cause mild skin irritation, and that’s only in very rare cases and is treatable with prescription cream.”

Clemont looked around. There were many people either on computers or looking through microscopes. Someone jotted their findings on a tablet.

“As you can see they’re very diligent,” said Brad with a smile.

“This is fascinating!” cried Clemont. “I can’t believe how efficient everything is.”

“Haha, if you’re impressed already, I can’t wait to show you the rest of the building,” laughed Brad.

The tour continued at a steady clip. Brad showed Clemont the computer room and another research room. There were several break rooms and rest areas for all-nighters.

“We’ll this one up to be your room,” said Brad. “Why don’t you leave your backpack here. It looks heavy.”

“It is. Thanks,” said Clemont as he took off his backpack giving his shoulders some much-needed relief, and placed it on the bed. Once that was done with they continued the tour.

“This is where the magic happens,” said Brad as they entered a laboratory. “Once we’ve determined that the drug works and is safe to use, we send it to hospitals or pokemon centers depending on who needs it.”

“Hello sir.” said a blonde woman as she entered the room carrying a small case. “What brings you here if I may be so bold?”

“You may,” said Brad. “I’m showing our new intern the ropes.

“Oh, of course! That was today.” cried the woman. “I can be such an airhead sometimes. Nice to meet you. Clemont right?”

“That’s right,” said Clemont as he shook her hand.

“Well, I’ll be looking forward to working with you.” the blonde woman turned to Brad and whispered something to him. Brad smiled reassuringly.

“I’ll tell him Freya, just getting the induction done with first.”

“Sorry, tell me what?” asked Clemont. An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. What was Placebo Net up to?

The researcher flinched as if he knew he let something slip. He sighed but smiled.

“Well I suppose it won’t hurt to inform you now, but first I should explain a few things. I hope you’ll listen before making any decisions.”

Against his better judgement, Clemont nodded.

“Then let’s head up a couple of floors,” said Brad.

Clemont followed Brad to the elevator while clutching at his sleeves. He had expected a normal internship, but this was turning out to be something creepy and even a little shady. He stayed silent in the elevator wondering what Brad wanted to tell him.

“Now what I’m about to tell you is… let’s say unusual, and we’re not ready to go public with it yet. We’d be grateful if you keep what you’re about to see under your hat for the time being.”

Clemont nodded.

“Yes, of course.”

The elevator door opened. The duo walked down the hallway and through a door that led to another laboratory. It had lots of glass tubes of varying sizes sat on top of a large table. The contents of the tubes made Clemont’s stomach turn.

“Is…. is that…?”

“Yep,” answered Brad. “That is a human heart.”

In fact, each tube held a different organ. Lungs, kidneys, a liver, a stomach and even what appeared to be a human brain.

“Wha… what is this!?” he cried disgusted by what he saw in front of him. Brad let out a loud laugh.

“Had you going, didn’t I? You can relax Clemont, we didn’t gut anybody. These are artificial, surprise!”

“They’re not real?” asked Clemont.

_They sure_ look _real._

“Technically, no,” said Brad. “but they don’t have to be. They work just like the real thing.”

It took a few seconds for that sentence to sink in, but when they did they hit Clemont like a truck.

“What?!”

“You heard right,” said Brad smirking as if he was enjoying this. “It took a lot of trial and error, but we have been able to create a working heart out of synthetic fibres. They are 100% eco-friendly. No plastic whatsoever. I remember the first breakthrough well. We created an artificial heart. Then we wired it to an artificial human brain. We gave the heart a little jolt, not much different from a defibrillator. The heart began to beat! Only for a few seconds but it was beating! I’m amazed Officer Jenny didn’t come knocking from how loudly we celebrated.”

Brad rubbed the back of his head.

“After countless failures, we finally created a heart that worked! Now we just had to keep it working. This is revolutionary! Transplant waiting lists will be a thing of the past if we can pull this off! If someone needs a new heart. We could build one and best of all it would be adaptable to that person’s blood type so there will be no risk of rejection. We’ve even made artificial blood and blood cells. Yes, blood cells! In simpler terms, whatever the human body has. We’ve made a synthetic version.”

Clemont could hardly believe what he heard. If what Brad was saying is true, then it truly was revolutionary. It could change lives! This was like something out of a sci-fi movie.

“So…. you…. you could even replace brains?” he asked.

Brad let out a nervous laugh.

“Well, I don’t know about that. Not yet at least. They are just for research and testing other organs. It’s the brain that tells them what to do after all.”

Clemont just nodded.

“So… you’ve made an artificial version of everything? Could you even make skin? Hair? Bones?!”

Brad gave the inventor another smile.

“I think I’ll let you be the judge of that. Come with me.”

Clemont followed Brad back into the hallway still reeling from what he was being told. What could possibly top artificial, working organs?

“Through here,” said Brad as he led Clemont through another door. The long room was almost empty. Just a few tables with a computer on each one. There seemed to be a window in front of the desks but it showed what was in the room next to this one.

“We’ll use this one-way mirror for the time being,” said Brad. “We might scare him.”

“Him?”

Brad said no more. He gestured to the one-way mirror so Clemont walked towards it and peered in. He saw an empty room with a single bed. On the bed, someone appeared to be asleep. It was a boy, not much older than Clemont. He had tanned skin and black messy hair. The blonde couldn’t see much else though as the boy was under the bedsheets. At first, Clemont thought it might’ve been another intern and wondered why Brad was showing him this. Then another possibility crossed his mind, and it made him weak at the knees.

“That…. that’s not….”

“It is,” said Brad looking serious. “That boy…. is the first completely artificial human.”

**T.B.C**


	2. Explanations

Clemont couldn't take his eyes off it, or should he say him? Whatever the case, this day went from strange to outright impossible, How in the name of science did Brad do this? _Why_ did he do this? The teen leant against a nearby table to stay on his feet. Brad must've noticed this as he bought a chair over which Clemont gratefully sat on.

"This...this is a joke, right? It has to be a joke."

What other explanation was there? Aside from the ludicrous one. Sure Clemont didn’t know how Brad got that boy in on this but anything would make more sense than what he was told.

“Afraid not," said Brad with a smirk.

“But….how?….It’s impossible! Is….is this even legal?!”

Brad rubbed the back of his head, giving Clemont a slightly sheepish look.

“I’ll admit it’s a bit of a grey area. Honestly, we hadn’t really meant to create him. Well, we did, but we hadn't intended these results."

Clemont took a deep breath to try and calm himself. It wasn’t really working.

“So how _did_ it happen?” he asked.

“Well, we thought it would be helpful if we could create sort of dummy bodies for hospitals. They would be useful for training students who are looking to become surgeons. We were about done with this one when one of my colleagues, thought it would be amusing if we try to get the heart beating. I decided to indulge her because I thought the heart would stop after a few seconds, like always but...”

“It kept going?” guessed Clemont.

“Yes. Once started it didn’t stop. We had waited for five minutes when Freya discovered something shocking. He was breathing! Not only was the heart beating but the brain was also working. In hindsight, maybe the reason all the other hearts stopped beating after a few seconds was because they weren’t...for lack of a better term, connected to a brain. Now that we’ve put everything together though...it was something I failed to consider. Anyway, I thought Freya was gonna faint right then and there. I thought I was too. It’s nothing short of a miracle!”

Clemont turned to the one-way mirror where the boy was sleeping. The boy who was artificially made. Clemont still couldn’t wrap his head around it. It really was a miracle. This was completely unprecedented. Sure, he built Clembot, but he was made of metal. This boy could easily pass off as a normal teenager!

“How long has he been….alive?” he asked, still watching the boy as he seemed to snuggle further into his sheets.

"About four days," said Brad. "We've of course done plenty of health checks and some tests, all non-invasive I assure you. He’s perfectly healthy. There is one thing that concerns me though.”

“What’s that?”

“His immune system is very weak. It’s to be expected considering that it hasn’t had the chance to fight off illnesses. Right now even something as insignificant as a cold could be dangerous. That’s why we’re keeping him in that room, just for the time being. It has been sterilized so he should be relatively safe. We would give him vaccinations but as I said, he's artificial. We don't know what those would do to him. We need to do some tests first. Consider every possible risk. so until then, he'll have to stay in that room, or in this building at the very least.”

“Wow….” It’s not often that Clemont was left speechless, but that was all he could say at this point. Despite his initial misgivings, Clemont had to admit what Brad managed to do was incredible. Something like this never happened before. He understood now why Brad didn’t want to go public yet. This sort of news would blow up beyond comprehension. That boy would be famous but also at high risk of being mistreated or manipulated. It’s a cruel world out there. He stood up and walked over to the one-way mirror placing his hand on the glass.

“What’s his name?” Clemont found himself asking.

“He….doesn't have one yet," admitted Brad. "Any ideas?"

Clemont started at this. Brad was asking _him_? He didn’t even know this boy. He was about to voice his concerns when what sounded like a cough was heard from the one-way mirror. The boy was awake now and had his hands on his neck.

“Is he okay?!” cried Clemont.

Brad let out a laugh.

"He's fine. He does that when he's thirsty. Suppose I should get his lunch. Hey, why don't you join me so you can meet him."

“M….me?! Are you sure?”

“Of course,” said Brad standing up. “In fact. I’d like you to be the one to keep an eye on him. I know it’s not exactly what you signed up for but we’re all so busy with our research that we hardly have time to give him the care he needs. He needs to learn to interact with others. He’s a blank slate right now and being isolated isn’t going to help matters, so I’d like you to take care of him, interact with him, play with him. Teach him everyday skills. What do you say?”

"That….that's asking a lot," said Clemont as he practically tied his fingers together.

“I understand this is sudden and I apologise for that, the idea just this moment came to me. Well, you don’t have to answer right away. For now, let’s get his lunch seen to.”

Before they could leave, however, a researcher around Brad’s age came in holding a clipboard. He had burgundy hair and wore a similar lab coat to the other researcher. He gave Clemont a look before turning to Brad.

“Excuse me, sir, we have the results of the latest test I think you’ll find them fascinating.”

“Thank you, Reginald. Oh, this is Clemont. The new intern.”

Reginald turned his gaze to the one-way mirror. “I see you showed him that thing.”

“For the hundredth time, Reginald he’s _not_ a thing," said Brad sternly. “In fact, Clemont here will be seeing to his needs if he accepts the job.”

“Are you certain that’s wise sir?” asked Reginald with a touch of testiness in his voice. “I know you didn’t accept my proposal the other day but if you’d just...”

“Reginald we’ve been over this!” snapped Brad. “Unless you have something new to tell me, please return to your duties.”

Reginald’s eyebrows creased but he nodded and exited the room but not without giving Clemont a hard look.

Clemont cleared his throat if only to combat the awkward silence that followed that unpleasant encounter.

“Sorry about him,” sighed Brad. “Reginald isn’t the easiest person to get along with, but he’s very good at what he does. Shall we get down to business?”

“R...right," said Clemont shaking of the bad feeling he had, and followed Brad to another room. 

Interestingly, lunch was already pre-made. Brad pulled out some cheese sandwiches from the fridge and poured a glass of orange juice. He had Clemont wash his hands thoroughly so that they didn't carry any harmful bacteria. Once Brad scoured his own hands they headed back to the boy's room. Brad pulled out his badge and placed it against the reader next to the door. After it beeped he opened the door. Clemont was sure if his heart pounded any harder it would pop out of his chest.

“Food time lad,” said Brad as he put the tray of food on to the teen’s lap. He gestured Clemont to come over. Which he did.

“This is Clemont. He’ll be the one bringing food and spending time with you for the time being.”

Clemont felt his heart leap into his throat as the boy looked at him, He had chocolate brown eyes which held the innocence of an infant, which he sort of was despite his appearance. He had strange markings on his cheeks which Clemont guessed were imperfections. He was wearing a black t-shirt which looked two sizes too big. If Clemont met him down the street he would never have guessed that this teenager was built not born. He looked so real.

“Well I better look over the test results Reginald gave me," said Brad. "Will you be okay on your own for now, Clemont?"

“Oh...sure no problem," said Clemont. His nerves were all over the place, and he didn't know how successful he was at hiding it. Still how hard can sitting with an artificial teenager be?

“Okay, then I’ll see you two later.” He gives Clemont a card that appeared to have a phone number on it. “Call if you need anything.”

Clemont nodded.

“Right. Thank you.”

Brad nodded and left the room. Clemont sat on a chair next to the bed and watched the boy eat, though he played with his food more than ate it. It was intriguing to watch. Despite looking around Clemont's age, this boy had the mentality of maybe a two-year-old. It ended in a bit of a mess but the sandwiches and orange juice were gone.

“Heh, you’ve got crumbs all over you.” laughed Clemont he pulled a hanky out of his pocket and started wiping the teen down he even got some crumbs in his hair somehow. Clemont began to brush them out. He jerked his hand back for a second before touching it again. The hair even _felt_ real. Well almost real. It was smoother than hair tends to be but other than that it felt like normal hair.

“ash...”

The boy looked up at Clemont inquisitively. Clemont laughed a little.

"Sorry, your hair, it kind of looks like someone poured ash on your head." Clemont didn't know if this boy even understood him, but he felt compelled to keep talking. "It's not quite the same colour, but I guess if there's a lot of ash it would come pretty close. Hey, how's that for a name? Ash?"

It was a ridiculous way to come up with a name but Clemont doubted he would think of anything better, and honestly he did look like an Ash. It was like the name was made for him. The boy just continued to stare at Clemont as if he didn’t hear him. Technically, Ash was only a few days old, so Clemont didn’t really know what to expect. He took another glance around the room, now noticing how empty it really was. There wasn’t even a window.

“Isn’t there anything for you to do in here? No TV? Not even something to read?”

Another blank stare.

Well, that answered that. Clemont now understood the predicament that Placebo Net unwittingly placed themselves in. Teaching Ash was gonna be a full-time job, and they were busy with important research So it looks like it fell to him. Definitely not what he pictured when he accepted this temporary job, but he was here now, so he was gonna make sure to do a good job. It can’t be much different than looking after Bonnie. Accept for the massive language barrier.

“Don’t you get bored?” he asked. “Like when you really want to do something?”

The synthetic boy still said nothing but didn’t take his eyes off of the teen. Clemont gave a sad smile.

“I guess you really don’t understand huh? That’s okay. Hope you don’t mind me talking though. It’ll get awkward if it gets too quiet. Clemont sat back down on his chair. While not official yet since he still needed to tell Brad he decision. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and help this boy with the basics.

“Well...anyway...I’m Clemont.” He said then pointed to himself. “Clemont.” He pointed at the boy. “Ash.”

The boy stared at Clemont a bit more then he lifted his own hand and pointed to himself.

“A…..A….Aaaash?”

Clemont nearly fell backwards. Did this scientific wonder just speak?! Maybe he was just repeating what Clemont was saying. No, this boy pointed at himself so did seem to understand that Clemont was talking about him.

“Yes, yes, you’re Ash. That’s your name….urm if you like it. A name is what we call people. It’s something personal. We use names to let someone know we’re talking to them. It gives us an identity.”

The boy….or Ash….pointed at Clemont.

“C…..Cemont?”

Clemont let out a nervous laugh.

“Erm….close enough.”

Clemont soon found himself telling the boy about his life. About his dad, his sister and about being a gym leader, though he was sure that much of it went over the teen’s head.

“Siiister?”

Clemont nodded.

"Yeah, a sister is….hmm, how do I explain this? A sister is someone who has the same parents as you. Oh, a parent is someone who….bought you into this world. So, I guess that sort of makes Brad your dad, in a way."

He let out a little laugh, though Ash just gave him a look that said he didn’t fully understand.

Before the somewhat one-sided conversation could go any further the door opened and Brad came in.

“Clemont, sorry this totally slipped my mind. I need to give you this all-access card. The one we gave you expires after 24 hours. Just in case you didn’t accept our offer. I just need you to read and sign the contract. Standard procedure.”

"Oh okay sure," said Clemont as he walked towards Brad and accepted the clipboard. After carefully reading the contract he signed it finding it reasonable. He felt a sense of dread when he heard a loud thud behind him. Clemont hardly dared to look and when he did his fears were confirmed.

Ash was no longer sitting on the bed but was now sprawled out on the floor and was in the process of trying to pick himself up. Clemont was at his side in an instant immediately followed by Brad.

“Ash, are you okay?!”

“Ash?” asked Brad with amusement.

"I...guess I found a name," said Clemont as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Oh, I see, not bad.” laughed Brad. “It suits him I think. I’ll let the others know.”

Ash moaned and rubbed his forehead.

“Owwww….”

"Well, at least now we know he can feel pain," said Brad with a nervous laugh. "Okay, kid. let’s get you back onto the bed, then we’ll get some ice for your noggin.”

“I’m sorry,” said Clemont. “I turned away for just a second and…”

“Don't worry about it Clemont," reassured Brad with a wave of his hand. "If anyone's to blame it's me for distracting you. In fact, I would consider this a good sign. This boy-"

“Ash.”

Clemont had to stifle a laugh when Brad jolted and stared at the artificial teen who pointed to himself.

“Ash. I….identee”

Brad blinked before seemingly recovering from the shock and continued.

“Ahem, pardon me, _Ash_ never actually tried to follow anyone before. Not to mention he’s talking already. He must’ve taken a liking to you.”

Clemont blushed slightly. He didn’t know how to respond to that. Instead, he turned to Ash.

“Here, let me see.” He gently took Ash’s hand and moved it so he could assess the damage. There was a reddish mark above his left eye. Clemont cringed slightly. No doubt there will be a bruise there tomorrow.

It didn’t take long to get Ash back onto the bed and with Brad’s help made an ice pack. Ash flinched back when Clemont placed it on the bruised area.

“Sorry, Ash, I know it’s really cold but it will help your head feel better.” He reached out and rubbed Ash’s shoulder. “It’s okaaaay. I’m not gonna hurt you. This will help I promise.”

More slowly this time he gently placed the icepack onto Ash’s forehead. While he did flinch again he didn’t pull away. Whether Ash understood Clemont’s words or that he recognised his tone of voice as unthreatening Clemont didn’t know but at the very least progress was being made. He took Ash’s hand and placed it over the icepack.

“Just hold it there for now okay? Good, just like that.”

Ash looked up at Clemont with the most innocent eyes Clemont has seen on anyone other than Bonnie.

“Good?”

“Yeah, good. Said Clemont giving Ash a thumbs up. “You’re doing good.”

"Colour me impressed," said Brad. "It's a job for us to keep this boy still when we’re doing health checks and here you are treating a bump on the head and he barely moves.

Clemont rubbed the back of his head.

“I…..I guess you just need to make him feel safe.”

“I see, pretty much like any other child," said Brad. "You're a natural at this Clemont."

“Well, it helps that I have a little sister.” chuckled Clemont. He took a deep breath. Now seemed like a good time as any to tell Brad what he decided.”

“Anyway, I’ve thought about it and...I’ll do it! I’ll take the job.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know how good of a job I’d do but it has to better than that Reginald guy looking after him right?”

Brad let out a laugh.

“Might have to agree with you there, but don’t tell him I said that. He’s already peeved with me as it is.”

He placed a hand on Clemont’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Clemont this means a lot and really takes a load off my mind.”

Clemont smiled then turned to Ash.

“Well, guess you’ll have to get used to seeing me around. Ash.”

Ash looked up at Clemont still holding the icepack to his face, and did something that he didn’t expect to see so soon.

He smiled.

\- - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the day went with no incident. Ash was no worse for wear after his tumble. Which was a relief for everyone.

Clemont lied on his bed and stared at the ceiling. His room, at least for now, was pretty modest, considering it was really used as a break-room there was a small table with a couple of chairs and even a kitchenette. Clemont’s mind was going over the day’s events making it near impossible to sleep. After an hour of tossing and turning he gave up. Kicking off the sheets he got out of bed and exited his room. Hoping a walk will tire him out. Being sure to take his badge with him, he left his room. Sure many of the employees have gone home for the day, but a few, namely Brad and some security guard remained behind, and Clemont didn’t want to cause confusion. He was certain Brad would’ve told them he was employed here, albeit, temporarily, but one can’t be too careful.

Clemont walked down the hallways. The facility looked so different at night it was almost scary. He wasn’t all that surprised when he found himself at the same door that Brad bought him through to introduce him to Ash.

Clemont still found it astonishing that Placebo Net not only managed to replicate organs such as hearts and lungs but even created a living breathing human out of them. This would easily make the history books if Brad was ever comfortable with going public. Clemont shuddered as he opened the door and went inside, walking straight towards the one-way mirror. Ash was in bed, fast asleep of course. Clemont sighed. didn’t know when or if Brad would ever make Ash’s origins public, but he actually hoped it wouldn't be too soon. He had no idea how the public would react to Ash if they knew the truth about him. If there was anything Clemont learned about people, in general, it's that a lot of them hated anything that went against the norm. New things scared them. In fact, he was surprised and in a way, quite humbled that Brad even trusted him with this secret to begin with. He was essentially a stranger who could easily go straight to the press about this. Not that he would of course. He promised to keep this a secret and he intended to keep that promise, if just for Ash's safety.

Clemont placed his hand on the glass as he watched Ash sleep. The thought of him getting hurt or worse by some insensitive intolerant jerk made Clemont’s blood run cold. There was no way he was going to let that happen. Period.

_I’ll keep you safe, Ash. I promise._

**T.B.C**


End file.
